Dublin

Céad Míle Fáilte – A hundred thousand welcomes to Ireland’s capital city from the team at Visit Dublin. We are delighted to bring you our guide to our fair city; the home of lively nightlife, stand-out culture, adrenaline-pumping action and much more. While it's hard to capture all the great things you can experience during your trip to Dublin, in this guide, you’ll find snapshots of all the great things to see and do including some of Dublin’s best kept secrets. We think you'll #LoveDublin just as much as we do.

Top 5

It’s hard to whittle Dublin’s attractions down to just five, but here are a few to kick off your visit:

Dublin Literary Pub Crawl

The Little Museum of Dublin

Dublin Markets

The National Gallery

Aboveboard

The City

Dublin boasts a cracking zoo, the 11th-century Christ Church Cathedral, and a plethora of literary pubs befitting its status as one of just five UNESCO Cities of Literature on the planet. You can raise a pint to writers like James Joyce and Bram Stoker, or explore the life and works of poet WB Yeats at the National Library.

City footwork:
Dublin’s a great city to explore on foot. From the gracious city parks of Merrion Square and Iveagh Gardens, to the grand Georgian architecture and alfresco café culture of South William and Drury Streets, there’s a lot to divert your attention. And don’t forget Temple Bar – a cobblestoned cultural enclave of galleries, restaurants, hopping pubs and the lively Meeting House Square.

City of Villages & Capital coastlines:
Poets, artists, dreamers, fashionistas, foodies, storytellers and the true-blues have all carved out little havens, villages of like-mindedness within the patchwork of the city. Hop on the Luas, Dublin’s Tram Line and visit Smithfield, Stonybatter, Ranelagh, and Rathmines to name but a few. A ride on the suburban Dart train whisks you north to cliff walks around Howth, or south to the coastal villages of Blackrock, Monkstown, Dun Laoghaire, Glasthule, Dalkey and Killiney. It’s in these seaside gems that you’ll find some of the city’s best seafood, waterfront festivals and sandy beaches.

Do & See

Our pick of things to see and do during your trip to Dublin:

Book of Kells

Guinness Storehouse

Iveagh Gardens

Kilmainham Gaol

Dublin Bay Cruises

Dublin Zoo

National Museum of Ireland-Archaeology

Malahide Castle

Dublinia

Glasnevin Cemetery Museum

Dublin Castle

Irish Museum of Modern Art

Christ Church Cathedral

Chester Beatty Library

Croke Park Skyline Tour

Dining

Dublin has an exciting food scene – there’s naturally lots of good Irish grub, in both traditional and modern forms, but you'll also find a tasty selection of ethnic eateries spanning most global cuisines.

Fade Street Social

Fallon & Byrne

Coppinger Row

Saba

Damson Diner

The Exchequer

Cafes

The pub is a place dear to the heart of every Dubliner but you'll find that cafés, coffee shops and tea shops come in a very close second! There are hundreds of cafés in Dublin offering the finest coffees and teas from around the world along with a wide selection of delicious food and sweet cakes to accompany them.

The Cake Cafe

Queen of Tarts

Brother Hubbard

Foam Café

Murphys Ice Cream

Bewley’s Oriental Café

Epicurean Food Hall

Silk Road Café

The Pepper Pot

The Decent Cigar Emporium Havana Café

Bars & Nightlife

Dublin’s pubs are slices of our living culture. There’s so much we could say about the craic, atmosphere, culture and history of Dublin pubs but really, there’s no substitute for experience. We've got over 1,000 pubs to spend some time in – here are just a few to get you started.

McDaids

O’ Donohugues

Grogan's

The Stag’s Head

Mulligan’s

The Cobblestone

Palace Bar

The Library Bar at The Central Hotel

The Bernard Shaw

Nightclubs

Shopping

Everything from high street, unique boutiques, shopping centres, shopping districts, markets plus a whole lot more... Dublin is a great location for a spot of retail therapy, and it’s easy to see why. The city centre itself is compact and you can pack in a great day’s shopping on foot, and a short bus or LUAS trip opens up even more choice in our many suburban shopping centres.

Grafton Street

Henry Street

George’s Street Arcade

Shopping Centres

Markets

Accommodation

Dublin as the capital and most populated city in Ireland has no shortage and variety great accommodation to meet every need and budget. Choose from modern or old style hotels, cosy boutique hotels or quirky establishments. From city centre hotels to those in the countryside or on the seafront you’ll never be short of choice in Dublin! Not to forget the excellent selection of self-catering apartments and cottages, vibrant youth hostels or homely guesthouses and bed and breakfasts across the city and county.

The Gibson Hotel

The Morgan

The Marker

Dylan Hotel

Generator Hostel

Morrison Hotel

Mespil

Merrion Hotel

Fitzwilliam Hotel

Trinity City Hotel

Maldron Hotels

Royal Marine Hotel

Avalon House

Camden Court

Westin Hotel

Essential Information

Navigate your way around Dublin with ease using our top tips:

Visit Dublin App

The FREE Visit Dublin App, with no roaming costs, is a must have tool to ensure you make the most of your visit to our vibrant capital. Get up-to-date information on 100s of events, browse places to visit, find out what’s nearby you, discover restaurants, cafes, points of interest, historic sites, special offers and much more.

The Visit Dublin App is available on the Apple Store.

iWalks series

Our FREE podcast audio guides tell the many stories of Dublin as spoken by their author, historian and artist, Pat Liddy. The sixteen themes cover many fascinating aspects of the region. Each iWalk comes with a FREE full colour brochure featuring maps and illustration. Use the iWalks as walking tour guides to the city, or just listen to them to discover the fascinating story of Dublin.

Get ideas, tips and suggestions to help you explore Dublin with our free insider guides that are available for download from the visitdublin.com website.

Website: www.visitdublin.com

Dublin Pass - official sightseeing card

Dublin Pass has been designed to help visitors to Dublin see more of the city’s attractions and amenities while saving time and money in the process.

Website: www.dublinpass.ie

Dublin Bus

Dublin has an extensive network of public bus routes, making it super-easy to get around not just the city centre, but the inner and outer suburbs too. First port of call is the Dublin Bus website. Its route, timetable and fare information make it easy for visitors to bus around the sights, and a real time information service shows when buses are due to arrive at stops.

Website: www.dublinbus.ie

Dublin Luas

Luas is Dublin’s light-rail transit service - a swift, reliable tram system crossing the city on two lines. Tickets for Luas can be purchased at street-side vending machines. They’re available for single/return journeys or as flexi-tickets covering travel for seven or 30 days. Check the destination on the front of the tram before boarding, and you’re all set for a smart light-rail system serving not just stops along the River Liffey, but some of Dublin’s best sights.

Website: http://www.luas.ie/

Dublin by Bike

Dublin is one of the top ten bike-friendly cities on earth. 120km of cycle lanes, an ace city bikes scheme and a choice of cycling tours has made it easier than ever to enjoy Dublin on two wheels. Dublin Bikes are custom-designed for city cycling. The 40 dublinbikes stations are distributed throughout the city centre to enable easy access.

Website: www.dublinbikes.ie

Taxi

Taxis can be hailed on the street and at taxi stands throughout the city.

DART and Rail

DART:
DART is an electric rail system following the eastern coastline from Malahide and/or Howth in north Dublin, right through the city centre to southern suburbs like Blackrock, Dun Laoghaire, Dalkey and onwards to the coastal towns of Bray and Greystones in County Wicklow. Trains run regularly both on and off-peak, are kitted out with free Wi-Fi and provide one of the speediest ways to transport you around the city, not to mention the hidden beaches, seaside villages and harbour restaurants secreted away along Dublin’s surprising coastline.

RAIL:
Dublin is also a central arrival and departure point for visitors looking to explore the rest of the country by rail. Cork, Galway, Limerick, Killarney, Belfast and Sligo are just some of the intercity routes served from the city’s two main stations: Heuston and Connolly